


Empty Thrones

by zombolouge



Series: Zom's Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Face off, Feelings, Final showdown, battles, mention of character deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 20:04:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5261687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombolouge/pseuds/zombolouge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Autumn Trevelyan loses everything and goes after the one man responsible.</p>
<p>Based off a tumblr prompt (see notes for prompt)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empty Thrones

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Prompt: The night everyone faced their worse nightmares was the night the sky cracked open. The Fade was so strong overhead no one could break free, not until each nightmare led them back through the dark clouds to their own bodies. Everyone snapped awake together, the sound of a storm unparalleled by the usual weather roaring all around and everyone went to arms. Was this what Solas wanted? Was this the end? They had no choice but to fight through waves of demons to the new throne of Fen'Harel himself.
> 
> So this turned into something slightly longer than a one shot, so I am posting the little bit that's ready, and I will throw the rest out once it's been thoroughly beaten to death and vetted. But this way you guys can see I am totally still working on all those tumblr prompts!!! :)

This was not the way this was supposed to happen.

Her daggers were heavy where they rested against her back, weighing Autumn down as though they had acquired extra mass from the task they were about to be used for. The metal, molded to suit her needs, used again and again to end the lives of those that would bring harm to the world, would now be turned against someone she had trusted. Against someone she had loved. She could feel it humming in response to the tragic truth, ringing with a song that filled her ears and mouth, drowning her in the bitter waves. She shook out her arms, trying to dispel the feeling, trying to dislodge the excess magic clinging to her skin. Her eyes sought the sky for the thousandth time, and she saw the creeping green light engulf the sun, swallowing the world minute by minute. The veil was shattered, dissolving under the might of whatever spell _he_ had cast, and everything they had ever known was breaking with it. The world was on fire, burning all around her as the people were consumed by the splitting veil, their flesh devoured by the starving magic held back from the world for too long. She could hear the screams of an entire civilization echoing back in her ears, thudding in her head along with the rapid beating of her heart. It was the end of days, and in this end the final truth, the real truth, was that she had failed them all.

The fortress built of stone and despair loomed over her at the top of the hill. She could see the spiraling towers reaching towards the sundered sky, spears stabbing at the once blue atmosphere and making it bleed the toxic viridian smoke. Black clouds hovered over the area, as though ill omen had taken physical form and taken up residence to watch the coming battle. The air was charged with fear and resentment, fury and betrayal, treacherous as it filled her lungs again and again. As she lifted her feet to begin her slow march up the hill, she felt like she might sink into the ground, perhaps falling into the void so that she would not have to do what she knew she must. It was too much, and she hated the very idea, but what choice had been left to her? He had taken everything from her, from what she had held closest in the present to the very possibility of her future, and all that was left was the final confrontation between them, the barbed words that burned the tip of her tongue and the tears that stung the corners of her eyes.

Her footsteps were loud in her ears as she neared the thick metal door to the fortress. A sad smile splayed across her lips as she remembered the sincere pleading from a friend, begging her not to venture out alone ever again. It was unfair advice, considering that he had taken everything from her. One by one they had fallen in the chaos, and Autumn was forced to watch as the light left their eyes, their bodies emptying of everything that made them who they were. It was hardest when she lost Cullen, his body wracked with pain from the lyrium dust carried in the air after the ore had exploded along with the veil. He had fought brilliantly, valiantly, but in the end he had fallen like all the rest, a blade in his stomach and blood marring the final words of love on his lips. He would never see her enact her revenge on their friend for all he had done, never see her make one final attempt to fix her failure. It was too late for him, too late for thousands who had already perished, but still she soldiered on, because there was nothing left for her to do. She had to see him, she had to face him, and she had to tell him how angry she was…and how sorry she was.

The door was cold against her palms as she pressed them to the metal, pushing them inward to reveal the great hallway beyond. Cool, white marble lined the area from floor to ceiling, veins of grey and silver threaded through, like starlight molded into snow. It was eerily empty as she entered, and her boots fell heavily against the ground, the echoes of her progress ringing through the stone and air. It was beautiful, and devoid of warmth, lacking any sign of life. She felt a kinship with the forlorn fortress. She was empty, a vessel made for rage and war, tipped over to spill her soul across the ground years ago, before she had known what was happening, leaving her drained and without hope.

She walked through the halls and considered all the steps she had taken to get here. It seemed that from her early days of rebellion against her father she had been careening towards this point, stumbling down a path obscured by fog so she could never see her destination. It was cruel, the way she had believed that she was doing good in the world. The way she had believed that the people she had found and declared her family had mattered. The way she had believed him when he said he would always save her. All that any of it had amounted to was a broken girl facing an angry god, and even that would mean nothing in the end.

“You cannot change what has already begun.” A voice cut through the thick silence and Autumn started, turning to face the direction the noise had come from. Floating near the wall of the hallway was a vaguely human-shaped cloud of electricity, blue ripples of energy shimmering across its form. She frowned at it, wondering what manner of demon this was, but in the end decided it was not worth the delay and continued on without answering, increasing her pace.

“You were too late a thousand years ago, girl!” it called after her, the laughter in the words chasing her as she started to run. The walls and pillars of the rooms became a blur as she sped through the fortress, looking for the man that had started it all. At times her footfalls were muffled by plush black carpet, other times she rushed over complicated mosaics depicting elven mysteries long forgotten. She ran for what felt like years, yet her breath never came ragged from her throat, her chest never grew starved for sweet air. She was a woman fueled by desperation, and there were no longer any limitations to her abilities.

The hummingbird hunted the wolf, and she would not be kept from her prey.


End file.
